


Don't Fiddle with My Heart

by Inarchem



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Isa is too gay to function, M/M, Radiant Garden is essentially Juilliard, musician au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:46:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21983881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inarchem/pseuds/Inarchem
Summary: Once known as a prodigy musician, an embittered Isa would very much prefer to never touch an instrument again. However, an unfairly attractive street musician may just find a way to change his mind.
Relationships: Axel/Saïx (Kingdom Hearts), Isa/Lea (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	Don't Fiddle with My Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [viiixel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/viiixel/gifts).



> This is a gift for [@viiixel](https://twitter.com/viiixel) for the 2019 KH Secret Santa! You asked for happy, soft things, with an extra helping of Lea/Isa on the side, and I was happy to provide! I hope you enjoy your gift, and happy (belated) holidays!

If asked about his decision to become a musician, Isa would say that it had never really been a choice. It was something he was born to do. 

Classically trained since the age of six, Isa had been declared a prodigy among his instructors, and his family’s wealth guaranteed that he would only have the best teachers to guide him. He mastered a variety of instruments as his expertise grew, but the instrument that he truly excelled in was the violin. By the age of sixteen, he had graduated with the highest marks from the best conservatory, leaving the rest of the musical world holding their breath to see what he would accomplish next. 

And then, without warning, Isa practically vanished from the musical world. 

Unknown to many others, there had been a secondary story that hardly anyone else had ever bothered to hear. A story of a lonely young boy, who was forced by his parents to commit his life to lessons and practice. He had been pulled out of school to be homeschooled at a young age, since his parents believed that he would face less distractions if he was tutored directly in their home. They spared no expense and chased off anyone who might stand in Isa’s way of greatness. But never did they ask what he wanted to do. 

The closest person Isa had to a friend had been a neighboring boy, who would toss balls over the estate’s gates for Isa to throw back. But once his parents had found out about that particular distraction, they made sure to drive him away as well. 

More than once, Isa had contemplated simply destroying all of his instruments and refusing to play music ever again. But he knew that so long as he was in his parents’ house, there was no good that would come of that. So instead, he obeyed his parents until the day of his graduation. And as soon as he received his degree, he shut away his instruments, found a job as a music theory tutor, and immediately moved out of his parents’ home. 

Instead of following his parents' designs, he moved to the nearby city of Radiant Garden, which housed a large university that held a prestigious music program. No one batted an eye when a young man moved in, offering his services as a tutor. His parents would have probably wailed, knowing that their prodigy was quickly adapting to anonymity, but Isa didn't give a damn anymore. If anything, he had found respite in the freedom away from obligatory practices and oncoming pressure from his parents. At least in Radiant Garden, he could do as he chose whenever he desired. And if he sometimes stared wistfully at his old violin … well, it was no one’s business anyway. 

At least, that was the case until one particularly windy autumn day. He had decided to take a longer route that day in order to enjoy the sight of the changing leaves before winter arrived. The path tended to take him closer to the university’s crowded side of the city than he preferred, but the weather was enjoyable enough to where he decided the risk was worth it. As he walked down the street, Isa felt the cool autumn wind whip through his hair. Slowly, he became aware of a deep, mellow rhythm that echoed down the street. And something about the music made Isa turn his head and look. 

And from that moment, he was lost. 

A handsome, red-haired man played an instrument that was rather new-fangled— an electric violin, accompanied by a sticker-plastered case left open for passersby to throw change. Overall, in this town, it was a fairly common sight. But the music thrummed deep in Isa’s chest, and there was a certain, mischievous quality to the simple rhythm. The beat bounced with the man's hair as he bobbed his head, and his lips were spread in a wide grin. Finding himself enraptured, Isa could tell that the musician wasn’t playing for fame or for praise. He was playing because he enjoyed doing it. And that made Isa feel something he hadn’t felt in many years. 

But then something caught the musician’s attention, and suddenly, Isa found a pair of bright, green eyes fixed on him across the street. Like a deer caught in headlights, Isa became frozen where he stood on the street, entrapped by the playful light in those gorgeous eyes. However, the spell broke as the musician finished his song with a flourish of his bow, throwing a wink straight at Isa. 

Blinking in surprise, Isa made a show of scoffing and walking away— determined to ignore the flush that stained his cheeks. He told himself that it was his imagination when he heard a soft laugh from the man’s direction. However, when he tentatively looked over his shoulder, he saw that the violinist already had his attention drawn away by a dark-haired girl, who was talking animatedly to him. 

But even as his cheeks continued to burn in embarrassment, Isa couldn’t forget the soft melody that had echoed down the street, as well as the peaceful look on the man’s face.

That night, when he returned to his apartment, Isa found himself reluctantly pulling down an old case from his tallest shelf. Looking down at the violin in his hands, Isa let out a soft sigh. He could already hear his mother scolding him for forgoing practice for so long, but as he pulled it out of its case, he allowed his mind to wander back to the song he heard earlier that day… and he wondered what it would be like to not play alone on a stage. 

Slowly, he brought the violin to its proper posture, and allowed the bow to glide along its strings. Remembering the melody he had heard earlier, Isa played a rendition of the same song, adding dips and key changes. In this small space, shut away from the rest of the world and its demands, Isa allowed himself to imagine what the song could become, if he was allowed to join the man and play for the sake of playing. And for the first time that he could remember, Isa found himself _enjoying_ what he played.

Even the next morning, after having spent hours playing from the previous night, Isa found himself in high spirits. For the first time in a long while, he felt as if there was some meaning that had long eluded him— and that he had finally begun to uncover. Entering a coffee shop near his apartment, Isa waited in line as his fingers drummed the previous night’s melody against his thigh. Idly, he began to wonder what the musician from yesterday was doing at that moment. 

As fate would have it, he didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

“Hello there,” a familiar, red-headed man said across the counter. His voice was warm and crackling, like fire, Isa mentally noted, as he was vaguely aware of a shocked expression on his face. His nametag read ‘Lea’, and he was even more damnably gorgeous up close. “What should I call you?” Lea asked, poising a marker above a cup. 

Isa flushed, and whatever sensible thing he had been prepared to say promptly shot out of his head. 

"Your next date,” he blurted out before he could recover.

… _Shit._


End file.
